A battle of the Swiss champions in the Calanda Broncos and a team that has thrived in the CEFL without winning the championships in defending Italian champions, the Parma Panthers, hits our screens tomorrow to find out who is going to the next round of the Central European Football League.
The Calanda Broncos sit atop the Swiss National League at 5-0, with eyes to add a seventh Swiss championship to their trophy cabinet, though this time there may be a competitor to their throne in the other undefeated team left in the Swiss league, the Zurich Renegades, with the two teams clashing later this year.
Watch live. Calanda Broncos @ Parma Panthers, May 11, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 1 pm EDT).
Their opening-round matchup in the CEFL saw the Broncos thrash the Copenhagen Towers from Denmark 33-10, with 26 of those 33 points being scored before half-time, their defense held firm against the Swedish squad with Robin Senrich throwing for one touchdown and running for two, with their gadget man Maxwell Gray hitting a triple as well with two rushing and one receiving TD as well.
The Parma Panthers are hoping the third time is the charm as they enter the CEFL for the third time in a row, with their history being a CEFL Bowl appearance in their first attempt but losing to the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns in the big game 42-17.
Then in their second CEFL appearance, they lost in the semi-finals to the eventual champions, France’s Flash de La Courneuve 26-21.
Though their regular season performance this year leaves a lot to be desired with their regular season record for the last two seasons sitting at 6-2 in 2022, 7-1 and an Italian championship in 2023, their current standing of 3-3 sitting at fourth in the Italian League leaves a lot to be desired. On top that, they will have to choose between two of their three imports for the game on Saturday. With their quarterback Robert Patterson, widout Micheal Alfieri and linebacker Jaylin Parnell all key players for them, a big decision will have to be made in Parma.